Interpretation
Since 1971 the Lord has given me prophetic dreams. Sometimes
I would awake with the meaning already given to me. But most times the purpose
of the dream and the interpretation of the symbolism would come after a period
of prayer. I learned that, to open the dreams up to my understanding, I needed
a key. The key was a concept found in scripture. The Word of Wisdom would come
at some point to tell me of the purpose of the dream, and the Spirit of
Revelation would reveal the meaning of the symbols.
As my skills of interpretation grew, the Lord entrusted me to interpret other’s dreams. The Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge and Prophecy would bring forward any instruction or advice, just as they had done for me after interpreting my own dreams.
In the 1990s the Lord began having me read the book of Revelation. Though I formerly had steered clear of this book, He chose to instruct me in it. This book contains the words of Jesus to His Church, and the Lord reminded me that whoever “keeps the words of the prophecy of this book is blessed” (Rev 22:7). How can we “keep” what we do not read? And so I began reading the book of Revelation.
I found the Lord ministering to me much the same as He did when seeking Him for understanding a dream. Many things written in Revelation are scriptures from the Old and New Testament and contain concepts represented by symbolism and allegory. Jesus is speaking to us “figuratively”. In the gospel of John we find this quote from Him; “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no long use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about My Father.” (Jn 16:25) When Jesus lived on the earth, He expounded on many scriptures, applying them to people’s lives. Only Jesus, the Word of God, can take the figurative and make it plain.
As my skills of interpretation grew, the Lord entrusted me to interpret other’s dreams. The Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge and Prophecy would bring forward any instruction or advice, just as they had done for me after interpreting my own dreams.
In the 1990s the Lord began having me read the book of Revelation. Though I formerly had steered clear of this book, He chose to instruct me in it. This book contains the words of Jesus to His Church, and the Lord reminded me that whoever “keeps the words of the prophecy of this book is blessed” (Rev 22:7). How can we “keep” what we do not read? And so I began reading the book of Revelation.
I found the Lord ministering to me much the same as He did when seeking Him for understanding a dream. Many things written in Revelation are scriptures from the Old and New Testament and contain concepts represented by symbolism and allegory. Jesus is speaking to us “figuratively”. In the gospel of John we find this quote from Him; “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no long use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about My Father.” (Jn 16:25) When Jesus lived on the earth, He expounded on many scriptures, applying them to people’s lives. Only Jesus, the Word of God, can take the figurative and make it plain.
Jesus is the Word of God (Rev 19:13). The concept of Jesus being the Word of God also comes at the beginning of the Gospel of John (Jn 1: 1-2, 14). Revelation is a book spoken by this same Word of God, Jesus. It cannot be understood by isolating it, but by laying these words alongside every other word He spoke. As God is One, so is our collection of the scriptures, our Bible, one. Without finding God’s purposes, and understanding the concepts He is using, we err in looking at symbolism to interpret Revelation.
I’d like to encourage you to read from the Book of
Revelation. My prayer is that you gain understanding, and then you will be
blessed in keeping His Words.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment